by Ebony Olson
Spectra smirked. “Well, we may want to be gone by nine thirty or the people who did book well in advance are going to have a hissy fit about their booking being moved.” I waited, watching her. She eventually met my eyes, “They run their booking system electronically and allow Wifi access so the hostess can use her tablet to access it.”
I shook my head. “You hacked it.” I smiled at her smile. “What else can you do?” She shrugged. “You've just finished your degree, haven't you?”
“Last week. I graduate in a month.”
“Have you started applying for work?” I knew she planned to get rid of her business.
She started fidgeting. “I have one or two.”
“But?” Cause there was definitely a but coming with her tone.
“But Alexander has pretty much arranged a job for me with the NSIO. The money is good for a junior. I'd be insane not to take it.”
“And the money is important because you want your own place?”
Spectra frowned and shook her head. “No, the convent is home to me. I'll move out one day, possibly when I get married, but until then.”
“Then why is the money important?”
Spectra looked at me. “Isn't money important to you?”
I sighed. “I've gotten used to a way of life.”
She nodded understanding. “I grew up in this way of life. While it's not necessary, I miss it and would like the option to have it again if I wanted it.”
I wanted to ask more about that, but the waiter entered with the wine I'd ordered and poured me some to approve before filling our glasses to the appropriate amount.
“Can I take your order?”
“I'm going to skip straight to dessert please. I'll have the caramel salted brownie with ice cream and the cinnamon apple pie with double caramel sauce and ice cream.”
I smirked at her order, and so did the waiter. “Do you ever eat a decent meal, Spec?” She gave him a wicked grin, and he just laughed. When I raised a brow at how casual he was being with my date, the waiter sobered. “Sorry, we went to college together. What would you like, sir?”
“I've actually never tried dessert here. So I'll think I'll let Miss Michaels pick for me.”
Spectra grinned at the waiter. “Give him the chocolate molten volcano with ice cream and whipped cream. Thanks, Brian.” The waiter smiled and left.
“Just college friends?”
Spectra smiled and nodded with no recognition of the suspicion in my voice. It was like she didn't acknowledge men would be attracted to her. She lifted her drink, took a sip, and the nerves returned.
“There was a reason I asked for dinner.”
“I was hoping so.” I took my own drink.
“I have rules. You nearly broke one of them last night, and I would have let you because I was so...” she hesitated, looking away, ashamed. “Not myself.”
I wanted to apologize, but I doubted we'd be at dinner right now if it hadn't happened, so I was struggling to feel guilty this evening.
“You're asking for one night of sex, and I understand that rules wouldn't probably exist for that sort of thing, but I want to make sure if this was to happen, where the limitations are.” I met her eyes and nodded. “No unprotected sex...”
“I carry no disease.”
“It's not about that for me.” She chewed her lip. “My mother was pregnant with my sister at eighteen. She loved the man, but he decided while he was old enough to enjoy sex, he wasn't old enough to be responsible for the outcomes of sex.”
“He abandoned your mother.”
Spectra nodded. “My mother won a scholarship to college and would have gone far in life. Instead, she ended up working like a dog to raise her daughter by herself. Four years later, she met my father and nine months after one night with him, I was born.” She met my eyes. “Despite my mother turning things around for herself and becoming quite successful, I understood from a very young age that females really do get the raw end of the deal with regards to sex. I promised myself I would never have children out of wedlock. I won't have unprotected sex until there is a ring on my finger and a man to call my husband.”
I placed my drink on the table. “I'm unable to give you a child, Spectra. You know that, right? I understand your fear with your boyfriend and especially so with Williams. But you don't need that fear with me.”
Spectra blew out a breath. “Alexander would kill you if he found out I let you come inside of me when I've denied him so long. We have an agreement when it comes to using protection with others.”
I laughed. I couldn't help it. “He's going to kill me just for having dinner with you, let alone what he'll do if he found out we had sex.” I sobered at the acknowledgment on her face. “He doesn't know about the Angelis, does he?”
“We've never discussed Merc.”
“But your boyfriend is very aware of your affair with Williams?”
“I was very heavily involved with Alexander for a number of years. I expected to marry him. Then when he became L'Ordre, he set me aside and started screwing half the Nachtwelt. Merc and I knew each other from church, so he knew my life and recognized I was suddenly around a lot more again.”
I felt my jaw tense. “You said Alexander and you were never in a relationship, but what you just described sounded very much like one.”
She shook her head. “Alexander isn't available to anyone that way. I thought we were more. He explained to me one night, after I mistakenly introduced him as my boyfriend, that he could only marry a specific type of woman.”
“The balance.” I nodded. “Daughters of a Nephilim are very rare to find, but to find one at his power level would be an impossible dream. She'd have to be the daughter of one of Lucifer's half-breed bastards to even stand a chance.”
“Apparently so.” Spectra mourned into her drink. “Which brings us to the next rule. You can't drop your shields with me. It's not fair to do that to me. If I'm going to have sex with you, it should be my choice.”
“Yes, it should.” I agreed. “Which brings me to my question. What are you?”
Spectra tensed. The curtain pulled back, and the waiter came in with three plates of dessert, setting two in front of Spectra and a rather large chocolate indulgence that was spewing up liquid chocolate, like a volcano would lava, in front of me. Spectra picked up her fork and took a bite of her dessert, so I followed suit, the chocolate cake-like product melted in my mouth, the liquid chocolate smothering my tongue in goo.
Spectra waited till she was sure the waiter went. “We need to agree there are topics we can't discuss with each other. You can't discuss your business. I can't discuss what you just asked me. Alexander would...” She stared at her dessert like it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Let's just say I'm a cross breed and leave it at that.”
I watched her eat two more bites of her dessert, pointedly avoiding eye contact. I let what she said soak in as we ate. She was forbidden to discuss it, and it would make Alexander angrier than hell for anyone to find out, but he was sure the watcher knew and no doubt the Angelis did too.
“Have you ever told anyone?” She shook her head. “But Tommy Donald knows what you are, and your boyfriend too?”
Spectra turned glassy eyes to me, her eyes pleading to drop this topic. “The celestials can tell what nearly anyone is, their true age, the weight of someone's soul, even who your heart belongs to. You can't hide from them.”
“That's why you'll marry the Angelis, because he knows it all and doesn't need to ask you.”
Spectra tensed. “I never said I'd marry Merc. We enjoy each other, and I trust him, but there are reasons that wouldn't work.” Spectra met my eyes, “You live with Changeur de Corps's. Can you discuss that?”
I swallowed the last mouthful of my dessert and poured another glass of wine as I sat back, relaxed. “One of my powers is to have an affinity with the beasts. Calin and his wives live in a wing of my residence and guard my property, bu
t I have others in my employ, and that's all I can say on that.”
“There was another de Sang.”
I nodded. “Luke. He's my friend and my personal assistant. He helps me keep my affairs in order and is very resourceful. He's fascinated with you, but not for the same reason I am. He likes to know everything. You puzzle him, and he hates that.”
Spectra smirked then sobered. “So Calin's wives, they are all lions?”
I smiled, seeing that she was trying to discuss my life within the confines of our limitations. “Yes. He has six wives now.”
“And they are all happy that way?”
I wanted to laugh. “They are a group of women all sharing the same man, and cats at that. They have their own wing, so I don't have to listen to the carry-on. In saying that, Calin has a unique ability with women and manages to keep them all happy most of the time. He treats them well. I think that makes a big difference.”
“Any children?”
“Before I was taken, yes. I had a family, but we are talking centuries ago. My family line is still living. Did you want to meet them? I actually have one of my very great grandsons living close by, and I can introduce you. He and his wife are expecting their first child in a few months.”
Spectra's eyes went wide and she shook her head. “I meant the lions.”
“Oh. There have been a few.” I was really hoping she wouldn't ask the next question.
“And they don't bother you running around the house?”
I picked up my wine and took a long drink. “No. They don't cause me any trouble at all.”
Spectra's eyes brightened, and I had a gut feeling this conversation was going to get bad very quickly. “Can they change at a young age? Are they cubs when they change? Do you play with them? Could I meet one?”
I sighed. “No.”
Spectra's face fell at my tone. “Oh, of course. Sorry, I forgot this wasn't an ongoing...” She bit her lip and turned her face. “Sorry, I just got overexcited, that's all.” There was a quiet beeping sound and Spectra pulled out her phone, silencing it before looking at the screen and standing. “We should get going.”
She walked to the coat rack and retrieved her coat, slipping into it. I rang the bell as I rose to retrieve my coat and the waiter, Brian, stuck his head in. “Bill please, Brian.”
Brian nodded and disappeared. He returned by the time we were ready to leave. I signed the authorization to debit my account here, and, placing my hand on Spectra's lower back, escorted her to the front door. The valet pulled my car up as we walked out and I opened the door for Spectra as a car I recognized turned onto the street at the end of the block.
“Bay...”
“In the car. We can discuss anything else as I drive you home.” I kept my eyes on the car, hoping Alexander Williams’s eyesight wasn't anywhere near as good as mine.
Spectra sank into the car, only slightly startled by the caution in my voice. I slipped into the driver's seat and was pulling out as Williams pulled into the space I was vacating. I pulled up to the lights and watched as Williams exited his car with a very attractive woman.
“Were you expecting Williams to turn up and save you from me again tonight?” I growled.
Spectra startled and looked over her shoulder. She sighed painfully as she turned back to me and let me see the honesty in her eyes. “No. He has a standing booking on Saturday nights but doesn't always use it himself.” Her fingers were flexing and clenching again. “I thought he was out of town this weekend. She must be something special to make him miss his father's birthday.”
We drove for a few more blocks in silence. When we approached an intersection and I started to pull into the left turning lane, Spectra reached over and touched my leg. “You're in the wrong lane.”
I looked at her, weighing the look in her eyes, then pulled off the road into a park. “Are you sure?”
She gave me a shy smile. “That all depends. If it snows tonight, can I still get home from your place tomorrow?”
“Possibly not. Would that be an issue for you?”
Spectra relaxed into the seat and shook her head. “I have nothing to rush back to.”
Her answer saddened me. “Spectra, I want you to be sure. I won't walk away from you a second time. If we get to my place and you change your mind, I won't let you leave.”
Her eyes were guarded as she reached across and touched my cheek. “Do you know why I insisted we go on a date first, Bay?”
“You wanted to get to know me better.”
She smiled kindly. “Partly yes, but the real reason is that a virgin deserves to be wined and dined, to be treated special before they lose their innocence, cause there is no getting that back.”
I must have looked shocked because her smile dimmed and her eyes became more guarded.
“You've not been with a woman in centuries. Your first time should be more than a quick seduction in an attic.” Her smile disappeared. “And it's my first time too, Bay. I've never been with a predator before and don't believe it's likely I ever will again, so for me, it deserves to be special for both of us.”
I caressed her cheek and pulled her mouth to mine, kissing her gently but with enough intensity to let her know this was special. “I won't hurt you, Spectra. Don't fear me.”
Her pale blue eyes met mine, strong and determined. “Take me home with you, Bay.”
CHAPTER NINE
Spectra
The snow was just starting to fall as we drove down the narrow roads between large properties. “I've never been in the country when it snowed.” I spoke quietly, watching the white fall through the blackness of night.
“You grew up in Wolfenden?” Bay shook his head, humored.
“It's the suburbs. Estate houses yes, but still the suburbs. This is beautiful. I understand why you've chosen to live out here despite your life being in the city.” I turned to look at Bay and found him watching me, an emotion I couldn't pinpoint in his eyes. “What?”
He turned his eyes back to the road. “You've been alone a long time, haven't you?”
I frowned. “Since I was fourteen.” I turned my eyes back to the dark. “My mother didn't die till I was sixteen, but she stopped existing the day my sister died. If it wasn't for Henry and Philippa, I probably would never have made it to college in the first place.”
“Henry Williams? L'Paix took you in? That is why you became close with Alexander.”
My hands started fidgeting of their own accord. “I've known the family since I was in primary school. They were our neighbors. There were a lot of empty fridge moments in my house after Danika died. My mom went missing for days at a time. She'd come home dirty, covered in bruises from de Sang bites. I don't know if she even knew what was happening to her. Eventually, she lost her prestigious job, and we started eating through her savings and my college fund.” I swiped at a lone tear that escaped. “I spent a lot of time next door with Alexander and his family.”
“How did you know they were de Sang bites?”
“I heard Philippa arguing with Henry one night about it. I didn't know what they were talking about until...”
“You met one,” Bay filled in for me. It must have been in the look on my face.
“He came to the house looking for my mother, except she wasn't there, I was.”
Bay's fingers on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles turning white. “He fed on you.”
I looked down at my hands. “I screamed. Luckily Alexander was on his way over to bring me home for dinner. After that, they had to reveal it all. A few days later, my mother took her own life.”
Bay gritted his teeth. “He did it to punish your mother for not being there. That's why Alexander hates my kind more than any other predator. One of us attacked the girl he loves.”
“Don't,” I sighed. “Don't ever say that to me. Alexander's feelings are as complex as his power and well above my level of comprehension.”
“He only smoke
s around you.”
“I know.” I touched the window where a snowflake was stuck to the other side. “I've seen him when he doesn't know I'm there, how he is with others.”
I saw Bay glance at me in the reflection of the window then turned the wheel, and we pulled into a driveway surrounded by forest. As we passed by the trees I'd escaped through, I finally recognized the landscape.
“Is there anything else I should know?” Bay queried. I looked at him. “About your preferences with sex.”
I shrugged. “I like the plain old boring variety, not the kinky shit everyone's into these days,” Bay smirked. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No.” Bay kept his eyes on the road. “I was just thinking the last time I had sex with a woman, if she was willing to be naked in front of you, she was considered brazen. Most times they kept their undergarments on at a minimum. I'd been around in the times where nudity was acceptable. Part of my loss of interest was the restrictions and how prim and proper women became.”
“What was the other part?” I dared to ask, wondering how anyone lost interest in sex.
“The feeding. You couldn't feed from a woman's neck. The bruising would get questions asked. So things became tricky. It ended up where my head between a woman's thighs achieved my feeding easier. I was able to bring her to pleasure and feed from her femoral as she climaxed, but then she would be unconscious. So I got used to not having the physical benefit myself. One day I just stopped getting turned on.”
We pulled into the garage and Bay turned off the ignition. “Until me?”
He turned to look at me, eyes serious. “Until you looked at me with such loathing where any other woman would have looked at me with lust.”
I smiled. “So this isn't a special connection, soul mates, or some bullshit. This is you wanting the one woman who didn't want you?”